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Any electronics store or sporting goods. If you do buy them make sure not to go too cheap - you want a set that will be able to pick up bands and not be on the same band with everyone else. Personally, I hate the suckers almost as much as I hate cell phones (or I should say the users of these). If you do get them - two points: 1. be polite and don't yell into them order talk loudly around others and 2. be aware that even though they may carry them they will not always be where they say they are (I have been beside little idiots saying they are at the arcade when they are being dickheads on the Lido). There are people who swear by them and others who say don't waste your money

My kids know that I do random checks on them. I have been known to go to where they are supposed to be and while there call on the WT and ask where they are. So far, they have been where they were supposed to be. Heaven help them if they pull a stunt like you mentioned. They would be on lock down for the rest of the cruise...and they know it. I am not over protective, I just do not tolerate lying or rudeness/bad manners.

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Upcoming Cruises:And...one in September 2015...just have to make the final choice

I will be taking my 3rd cruise on the Carnival Breeze 12/1/13. This will be my first with my children. They will be 8, 10, and 12. I was more worried about my 12 year old because my sons I can sign in and out of Camp Carnival, so I will know where they are when they are not with me. As for my 12 year old daughter, I was having difficulty with the "free roam" of Circle C.

Our cabin is on lido deck. I believe Circle C is on deck 5. I was thinking about the walkie talkie way, but am not sure she would keep up with it (have went through 2 cell phones in 1 year). The post it notes seem to be a bit easier to follow with as well as setting a meeting time/place every few hrs.

the 10 year old will have siging out priviledges too. 9-11 and 12-14 is the tough group because they are too cool for activities. you will find them hanging out a lot.

I suggest using the public phones located at every elevator--- you can find them all over the lido deck-- call the cabin number and leave a time and a place where you are expected to be.

you do not want the kids to bring kids to the cabin-- for any reason.

walkie talkies are not all what they are cracked out to be-- they constantly need charging-- and even though you have them with many subchannels-- good luck with finding an open channel--- and listening to all the screamming kids yelling into them for MOOOOOMMMMM and all the other Mooooom (s) screaming back--- WHAT>>>?
Please do not use them

I will be taking my 3rd cruise on the Carnival Breeze 12/1/13. This will be my first with my children. They will be 8, 10, and 12. I was more worried about my 12 year old because my sons I can sign in and out of Camp Carnival, so I will know where they are when they are not with me. As for my 12 year old daughter, I was having difficulty with the "free roam" of Circle C.

Our cabin is on lido deck. I believe Circle C is on deck 5. I was thinking about the walkie talkie way, but am not sure she would keep up with it (have went through 2 cell phones in 1 year). The post it notes seem to be a bit easier to follow with as well as setting a meeting time/place every few hrs.

The 9-11 year old group on the Dream would have some of their sessions on Deck 4 in the mornings sometimes. And they do group scavenger hunts, but for a child to do them, you have to give them the ability to sign themselves in and out. I was hesitant to let my 9 year old do this, but let him within certain rules. (1) He had to go over the schedule with me of what he was going to do with camp; (2) he had to go back to the cabin and let myself or my mother know he was gone from camp; (3) he was not allowed to go in anyone else's cabin or invite anyone else to his cabin; and (4) no running. The only other times he was by himself was when he would ask to go get a grilled cheese, an ice cream, a slice of pizza or a soda at one of the bars on Lido Deck.

He wasn't happy that I would often meet him checking out of Camp at the time he said he would be leaving, but I figured it kept him on his toes. He was a very good boy!

My daughter is 12 and didn't know circle c let them come and go. Next time I would have her bring a friend or cousin. She wanted to roam, but I also spend alot of time hunting her down. It was not fun. I would try walkie talkies next time for sure.

I will be bringing two boys, both 17 and one girl, 16. I was going to make dinner mandatory..any other suggestions??

for us dinner was mandatory.

excursions were done as a family.

No going into any cabin area for any reason whatsoever....
that means no walking friends to their cabins to get whatever.
so this kind of limits to where they can go--- lido deck or entertainment deck.

make a curfew--- stick with it- Remember if you have an early port day.

My daughter is 12 and didn't know circle c let them come and go. Next time I would have her bring a friend or cousin. She wanted to roam, but I also spend alot of time hunting her down. It was not fun. I would try walkie talkies next time for sure.

If they are not allowed in cabin areas--- that does not leave them many decks to wander.

If she is to stay only on public decks-- that gives her the Lido deck and deck 5 to move about.

I will be bringing two boys, both 17 and one girl, 16. I was going to make dinner mandatory..any other suggestions??

What would your requirements be at home - the ship is basically a floating city. The two boys I wouldn't be too concerned with unless they are total jerks and irresponsible - set what limits you are comfortable with. A 16 girl I would be a little more concerned about - will she be with the boys or going around on her own.

The one rule we had on the ship and at home was: no matter what you are drinking (pop, juice, coffee, water, etc okay, maybe beer if you allow it) it stays in their hands or with each other at all times - do not leave it unattended - if you do, when you get back to it - dump it and get a fresh one.

Besides, who wants a kid hanging on to our shirttails 24/7. We are on a cruise to have fun, too...and entertaining kids all the time isn't part of the package.

I have to disagree with you. My kids have been cruising with us since we started cruising when they were 4 and 7. They have been on 9 cruises and are now 15 and 18. I would say that 95% of the time when they are awake my kids preferred to hang with us instead of going to the kids clubs or going off on their own. Guess what....we had fun with them. We had meals together, saw the shows together, did excursions together, played games together, hung out at the pool together....I never considered it entertaining my kids. I was having fun with my kids. To us it is a family vacation that we enjoyed together as a family. DH and I take adult vacations when we want to be left on our own. When we are on a family vacation it is a blessing to spend that time with our kids and we are definately having fun with them, not entertaining them.

Since our kids were 10-13 our rules were stick with a buddy unless they are going directly to get a drink/ice cream and back. We always communicate with each other where we will be either verbally or a note in the room. Do not leave drinks unattended. Do not go in anyone elses room. Do not let anyone in their room. Since they prefered to spend most of their time with us we never had any issues.

No going into any cabin area for any reason whatsoever....
that means no walking friends to their cabins to get whatever.
so this kind of limits to where they can go--- lido deck or entertainment deck.

make a curfew--- stick with it- Remember if you have an early port day.

use the cabin phone to leave voice mails.

We do all of these as well.

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Upcoming Cruises:And...one in September 2015...just have to make the final choice

What would your requirements be at home - the ship is basically a floating city. The two boys I wouldn't be too concerned with unless they are total jerks and irresponsible - set what limits you are comfortable with. A 16 girl I would be a little more concerned about - will she be with the boys or going around on her own. .

when we were growing up in a family of 4 kids-- 1 girl 3 boys and the boys all younger then me--- I hated that they were allowed to do stuff that I was not.

I mean, I hear what you are saying-- but wish people would treat their boys as well as the girls.

The shenigans I see on a ship with the young girls though-- make my hairs stand on end...

No going into any cabin area for any reason whatsoever....
that means no walking friends to their cabins to get whatever.
so this kind of limits to where they can go--- lido deck or entertainment deck.

make a curfew--- stick with it- Remember if you have an early port day.

Some parents use written contracts that they have the kids sign. The contract lists all the expectations for the kids like not going into anyone's cabin, not accepting drinks of any kind from strangers, not going into certain areas like making the elevators their private party rooms, and check in and curfew times.

Some parents use written contracts that they have the kids sign. The contract lists all the expectations for the kids like not going into anyone's cabin, not accepting drinks of any kind from strangers, not going into certain areas like making the elevators their private party rooms, and check in and curfew times.

i think it VERY important that the kids know before they even set foot on the ship what exactly it is that is expected of them and what the consequences will be.,

My sons are 6 and 12. I was hoping my 12 yo would chose to stay in the 9-11 year old group, where I didn't have to worry about him so much! I think even if he's in the teen group, I don't want him wandering alone, so he will just have to stay put until the time we are set to meet him or pick him up.

This is our first cruise with kids, we've been on two previous ones by ourselves. We are also headed to Hawaii in October, so I know this trip will be more about the kids. I will probably be accompanying my 19 yo daughter dancing and to shows because I don't want her wandering alone either! I figure this might turn out to be dad and boys at the pool, mom and daughter wandering the ship. I even thought about setting up dad/daughter night and mom/son night too (he can take her to the arcade or Johnny Rockets, I'll take the boys to watch a show or play mini-golf!) At least we have her to watch the boys some nights or afternoons so we can get some alone time.

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.” - Mark Twain

My sons are 6 and 12. I was hoping my 12 yo would chose to stay in the 9-11 year old group, where I didn't have to worry about him so much!

Except under very rare circumstances, your 12yo will not have a choice and will not be allowed with the 9-11yo group. Almost all cruise lines make them go with their age group. Some will make exceptions and allow a child who is very close to a birthday to move up. (Carnival allowed my youngest to move up when she was a week from her birthday. It probably helped that she was physically much bigger than the other kids in the younger age group.)

Here is a "contract" we used with our kids when they were younger. Now that they have been on multiple cruises they know the deal. I mention the rules and they can pretty much repeat them.

We do check in on them still to make sure they are where they say they will be. Had to impose consequences once on DS, never again, he learned the had way. We do get extra keys for both ours and the kids cabins so leaving notes is easy.

I agree with others, leave the walkie talkies at home. While my kids are responsible, it is too much (IMO) to ask them to carry them around and keep track of them while on vacation. Follow the rules, be where you say you will be, and you don't have to have them.

First of all we want all of us to have fun. This should be a relaxing, enjoyable vacation. We hope that noting our expectations and rules before we depart will avoid any misunderstandings on-board. Note that violation of these rules will result in you being required to stay with us or in your cabin and therefore you will not be able to participate in any of the teen activities. These rules are not in place to say that we do not trust you, but to ensure we can all enjoy our trip.
• You are not to enter any cabins other than ours. It does not matter if it is the cabin of a new friend or someone we know (unless one of us expressly approves this).

• No one else is to enter our cabins.

• If you are in your cabin alone – hang the do not disturb sign on the door. This should prevent any RCCL employee from entering. Please ensure you remove it when you leave the room.

• You are not to drink any beverage unless it is handed to you by a family member or an RCCL staff member. You are not to drink from anything you have let out of your sight. Some people have been known to slip drugs into other people’s drinks. This is a lifelong rule that should be followed in any social situation.

• We expect to know where you are on the ship. We will use notes in our cabin to let each other know where we can be found.

• You are not to loiter or play in the stairwells, hallways, or elevators. Activities such as “knock and run” or calling other cabins to hang up will not be tolerated.

• We will decide on a curfew each night. The ship’s curfew is 1 AM since you are under 18. We have the right to require you to be in the cabin earlier if we feel the need.
• Your Sea Pass is tied to my credit card. It is to be used only by you. You may not buy other people drinks, snacks, arcade games, or souvenirs. You have a budget of $xx. If you exceed this budget without our approval, you will need to reimburse us.

• If you loose your Seapass you are to immediately notify one of us.

• We expect to eat dinner together most nights. There is flexibility if there is an alternate activity you would prefer to attend as long as we have discussed it in advance (at least that morning).

• If there are kids you would prefer to hang out with instead of the teen club, I need to meet them.
• If you order room service, you must tip the delivery person. We will provide a small amount of money for this.

• If we arrange a check-in time and you miss it then you are “grounded” for the next 24 hours. This means that you must stay with us or in your cabin.

• No visits to the outside areas of the upper deck at night alone.

• Put anything of value into the cabin safe. Cell phones are only to be taken out of the safe when we ask you to. Texts and calls are expensive and not in your budget.

. . . Besides, who wants a kid hanging on to our shirttails 24/7. We are on a cruise to have fun, too...and entertaining kids all the time isn't part of the package.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Warm Breezes

I have to disagree with you. . . my kids preferred to hang with us instead of going to the kids clubs or going off on their own. Guess what....we had fun with them. We had meals together, saw the shows together, did excursions together, played games together, hung out at the pool together....I never considered it entertaining my kids. I was having fun with my kids. To us it is a family vacation that we enjoyed together as a family. . . . When we are on a family vacation it is a blessing to spend that time with our kids and we are definately having fun with them, not entertaining them. . . . .

Well put Warm Breezes. I was going to be snarky and say something about being glad I wasn't Brenna!

We have one DD - now 17YO and I truely enjoy her company. We've taken alot of trips (land and cruise) with her and I wouldn't change one minute.

It's not like she is "tied" to us or anything, but like AKCruz, we've long had an agreement with her (in fact I think one or two of of AKCruz's rules were originally written by me on one of these threads ).

DD makes friends pretty easily. But she knows she needs to call in and leave a message with her plans. She knows she needs to be with two other kids minimum at all times (with at least one of the two other kids also female). She knows we will stop by occassionally to make certain everything is ok. Plus, she and I share a rather distinctive hair type so she knows that she is always likely to be noticed (and ratted out) by some little old lady who will comment about her "beautiful hair"